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The President of the Republic receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Naples on November 21, 200221.11.2002
Estonia and Europe
Honourable Mr Rector,
Distinguished Academic Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Thank you very much for the invitation, but first of all, for the Honorary Doctor's title of your venerable University! It is a great honour and privilege to me to speak about the aspirations and the past of my small nation here where we at every turn can enjoy riches of history and culture. Permit me to discourse on one of possible views on the sources of riches of the European culture as seen through the eyes of an Estonian.
In his collection of articles "Kultuur on tähtis. Kuidas väärtushinnangud kujundavad inimarengut" ("Culture Matters. How Values Influence Human Development") published just recently in Estonian, Ronald Ingelhart, professor of political science at the Michigan University, suggests that one of the most important historic events in the 20th century were the rise and fall of the communist empire.
Although Ingelhart, in respect of the countries and peoples having thrown off the yoke of communism, deems the influence of long-term cultural and religious patterns on all developmental factors of their societies to be most important, the author founds that all of this does not hold fully true for the peoples of the former Soviet Union. He writes: "Since the outset of the dramatic turn towards democracy in 1991, they have neither become more successful, happier, trusting, tolerant nor managed to distance themselves from material values. On a large scale, they have moved quite in the opposite direction." And further: "For example, protestant countries in historical terms like East Germany and Latvia having survived the communist order, display rather low levels of interpersonal trust."
Those claims are particularly serious in the context of Estonia and other Eastern and Central European countries acceding to the European Union. Opinions frequenting in the area of western culture and science may affect, first, the decisions and attitudes of the EU Member States' citizens concerning the enlargement of the union. Secondly, they make citizens of the candidate countries worry about if they are capable of becoming equal partners.
It has been claimed that the post-modern era was characterized by detraditonalization. Yet the above suggestions by an acknowledged political scientist corroborate the contrary: the stereotypes internalized by our consciousness are actually very vital and reluctant to disappear. In spite of the fact that the history of the majority of communist regimes can be accommodated within the limits of the last century, their influence on our understandings and convictions still is existent.
It would apparently take a whole series of lectures to analyse the history of origin, evolution and collapse of the so-called communist system. But today, I would confine myself to a few keywords characterizing the development of the Estonian state and society. But first of all, an outline - be it even a brief one - of the sources of our statehood should be given.
The Estonians are a small but very old people. We have been living in our present settlement area on the shores of the Baltic Sea, according to some estimates, for at least seven thousand years. We speak Estonian belonging to the Finno-Ugrian languages, which connects us both linguistically and historically, for example, with the Finns and the Hungarians.
First signs of an emerging Estonian statehood could be noticed approximately one thousand years ago. At the beginning of the 13th century, German knights accompanied by missionaries and traders arrived in our parts of the world. They dedicated this country to Virgin Mary, subjugated and baptized its inhabitants. If our ancestors those days would have had the chance of developing their embryonic statehood further, the history on the shores of the Baltic Sea might have taken somewhat different course, but - an "if" is no argument for history.
In the history of the Knighthood of Estonia, the history of the colonies of Ancient Greek and Rome repeats itself very expressively. And just like the descendants of ancient colonies received their names from their rulers received we ours from the Knighthood of Estonia. Hence, what links us with them is the name - Estonia.
The Estonians, taking advantage of the conflicts broken out between the temporal and spiritual rulers of Estonia, in St. George's Night of 1343 started a large uprising. This event too, could have become the beginning of our statehood. Yet the conquerors lured the insurgents into negotiations and slew the four chiefs of the uprising, called in chronicles the kings of the Estonians, having arrived as truce envoys. In the aftermath the uprising was crushed.
In the following centuries Estonia was overrun by several wars and both the Kingdoms of Poland and Sweden and the Russian Empire, in turns, had the right to rule the settlement area of our ancestors. Yet the actual predominance for centuries remained with the Knighthood of Estonia who, with every new conqueror, managed to agree on their privileges. For this reason, we are used to speak about a 700-year German hegemony in Estonia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I believe that the above brief description reminded you of those historical events, which have taken place in states and city-states on the territory of Italy. In Estonia, the rivalry between the church and worldly power so characteristic of the Middle Ages ended with reformation in the 17th century, under the Swedish rule.
Everyone's right to speak to God in his native tongue, postulated by Martin Luther, provided the basis for emergence and development of written Estonian. The first books printed in Estonian already in the 16th century, now were followed by a number of new ones. A network of elementary schools started to expand rapidly and in 1632, Gustav II Adolph, King of Sweden, founded a university in the city of Tartu. But, as a result of the Northern War - in accordance with the Treaty of Nystad - the territory of Estonia was ceded to the Russian Empire. And only in 1918, setting up our own state, could we free ourselves from the hegemony of Baltic-German nobility and the Russian state.
Estonian historians and researchers are quite unanimous concluding that the Estonians became a nationality with their own distinct culture at around the middle of the 19th century. Therefore, the Estonian national identity is focussed on culture, by contrast to some other European nations whose national identity took shape centred on the state. The Estonians have formed their value-system, founded on which they become aware of themselves and orientate in the world, on the basis of their literature, fine arts, theatre and choral culture. A unique manifestation of our choral culture are, for instance, our song festivals held every forth year since 1869.
The idea of Estonian statehood began to develop late in the 19th century just in the bosom of culture. In parallel, the thought of approaching Europe matured. When Russia in 1905 was staggered by its first revolution, Estonian intellectuals of that time set the goal of becoming, apart from being Estonian patriots, also Europeans. The long-time rulers of the Estonians, the Baltic Germans, had monopolized the idea of "Europeanism", but now, the Estonians themselves entered an active dialogue with the whole cultural diversity of Europe. The Europe-watchword was at the same time a countermove to the Russian predominance.
The idea of the Estonians being a civilized nation manifested itself in proclaiming the Republic of Estonia on 24 February 1918. A far-reaching experience of local government, acquired during the national-cultural evolution, became a firm foundation of the state. The purpose of the Estonian state has been inscribed in the preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia: to protect and preserve the Estonian language and culture. As we can see, the Estonian state and people are symbiotically intertwined.
The first two decades of the Republic of Estonia can be called a "heyday of culture". There were no areas of culture, in which the Estonian culture had not caught up the European developments, at the same time preserving its national uniqueness. Here, I would like to point out a few facts in particular.
In 1925 the Parliament of Estonia passed the Law on Cultural Autonomy of National Minorities, thus expressing clearly that in the Republic of Estonia beside the Estonian culture also other cultures, those of minorities, had a right to live. By the way, as for the passage of this law, we were pioneers in the then Europe.
In the late 1920s Estonia became an advocate of the Pan-European movement. Thus, we can say that Estonia demonstrated its readiness for the birth of the European Union already about twenty-five years before it actually began to take shape. Those decisions, made at the state level, were at the same time decisions in terms of cultural policy.
In 1940, the Republic of Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union. The totalitarian regime started its devastation by deporting the intellectual elite of Estonia to Siberia and imposing an absolute party dictatorship. In the late 1940s, umpteen books were chopped to fuel; the Soviet inquisition made lists of prohibited literature and authors, and introduced a multiple censorship. During the occupation that lasted for nearly half a century, the goal of the totalitarian power was assimilation of national cultures.
It is only natural to ask: How on earth could one of the smallest language-communities and nations in Europe withstand the totalitarian regime and make it to an independent state again? In enumeration of reasons enabling this, again two factors mentioned before attract attention. These reasons are the Estonian culture, space of our existence and our affinity for Europe.
In the Soviet time, the Estonian culture became a substitute for the political life lost in the course of occupation. Not only our literature but also art and theatre worked out their special hint-languages, in which the internal communication of society took place. In classical rhetoric hint-languages like these are represented by the principle "sapienti sat".
I will give you just one example how this kind of double-encoded communication functioned. Every fifth year, dozens of thousands of singers and more than one hundred thousand Estonians as listeners gathered in the Song Festival Grounds of Tallinn. After the compulsory, approved by party authorities repertoire praising Lenin, Stalin an the communist party had been performed, came the finale - "Mu isamaa on minu arm" (My Fatherland is my Love), a song composed by Gustav Ernesaks to the words of Lydia Koidula, a poet from the period of Estonian national awakening. For 50 years, this song used to be the Estonian national anthem, like for the Italians the slaves` chorus from Verdi's "Nabucco". All those present stood up having tears in their eyes and a hope in their hearts that one day freedom still would dawn to the Estonians again. This very Song Festival Grounds of Tallinn in 1988 became the main arena of Estonia's "Singing Revolution".
Presently, the Estonian state will mark its 85th anniversary but our people could govern their life themselves for 33 years only. Two thirds of those were between the two big wars. Once the "perestroika" in the second half of 1980s provided the first chance, a popular mass movement carried by patriotic ideas, called Singing Revolution after peaceful gatherings in the Song Festival Grounds, broke out. It even has been told that the Estonians have sung themselves free.
Yet, beside that, strategies of democratic behaviour and negotiations used by Estonian political leaders and intellectuals in their communication with Moscow should by no means be underestimated either. On the one hand, in a country occupied by an empire we created legal, political and economic basis needed for becoming independent and, on the other hand, we tried to convince the whole world that the Soviet Union, as for its nature, was imperialistic. In this propagandistic work, our argument was this very European dimension in the behaviour of Estonia and the other Baltic States.
The consistent and unanimous action of three small people paralysed the then Soviet empire. This, however, opened new prospects also for Central European countries, until then treated by the totalitarian regime like satellites. Some meaningful dates will help to illustrate those processes.
On 16 November we marked the Rebirth Day in Estonia. On that day, 14 years ago, Estonia being an occupied Soviet republic proclaimed its rights of a sovereign state and the supremacy of its laws over those of Moscow. Somewhat later, Lithuania and Latvia joined us in our aspirations. On 23 August 1989, when 50 years had passed since the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact dividing Europe, the largest peaceful demonstration of the world history took place: the three Baltic peoples formed 600-kilometre-long human chain stretching from Estonian capital Tallinn to Lithuanian capital Vilnius.
A few weeks after the Baltic chain, the Hungarians, a kindred people of the Estonians, carried out their democratic turn. With similar events in Warsaw, Prague, and other capitals of countries belonging to the Soviet sphere of influence, a new era began in Europe. I would like to point out also the fact that the Berlin wall fell in November 1989, that is exactly a year after Estonia's declaration of independence. But the divided Germany reunified to form a whole almost two years later.
Yet, what was the most important thing, on 20 August Estonia could restore its independence without a single casualty. This happened as a result of years of de-assembling the totalitarian regime, whereas every step had been thoroughly deliberated and underpinned in legal terms. Without using our assets of values described above, such a development would have been unthinkable. It is no overstatement if I say that the Estonian experience was of epoch-making importance in the European history. With restoring the independence of the Baltic States also the process of gaining independence by the peoples of the Soviet Union began, which, in turn, enabled democratic development on more than a fifth of the earth and ended the confrontations of the Cold War in the world.
Now we are on the threshold of revolutionary events again.
Over the last decade, fundamental changes have taken place in Estonia's society: we have introduced a new monetary system and market economy, carried through radical reforms almost in all areas of societal life, and the parliamentary democracy has got a firm footing. Now Estonia is about to be invited to NATO and, hopefully in a few weeks` time, to the European Union as well. That's where our new opportunities in Europe originate, but equally our duties regarding Europe.
Estonia with its economic growth year in, year out exceeding 5%, has been called one of the most successful transition countries. Even so, great income differences and social cleavage characteristic of transition societies are a serious problem in Estonia too. The more encouraging that just our economic elite has launched initiatives to bridge the existing gaps. The way out is seen in a wide-ranging accord between all social classes determining new directions of development.
Already Rudolf Steiner, a great mind of the last century, has indicated that social demands cannot be met by one changeover of power only, but the life of society should be kept in a state of permanent socialization. Thus, the keywords of the ending year in Estonia have become "social dialogue" and "national accord". Coming to this kind of accords is not an easy task. Yet, we already have a certain experience of the kind for our popular movement in the late 1980s, including every third Estonian, took place based on an accord too.
Distinguished Academic Colleagues,
Estonia is on the threshold of the European Union. We can draw a straight line from Naples lying at the Mediterranean Sea to Tallinn lying at the Baltic Sea, this line symbolizing the unity of Europe. We need not stress any more that we are a part of the European civilization. We have returned to our historical home.
In the emerged natural framework, the Estonian state, society and culture now can concentrate on developing their uniqueness. Europe is not a melting pot of peoples and languages like the Soviet empire once tried to be. Europe's idiosyncrasy and vitality consist in integration of differences and synergy of uniqueness. That is our basic value we are obliged to preserve and develop in the European Union.
Hando Runnel, one of the greatest Estonian poets, a few years ago published a collection of poems entitled "Üle Alpide" (Across the Alps). This metaphor in view of the today's event has a particular meaning. The Alps, this Europe's only high mountain range, as a beautiful curve is framing the "jackboot" of the Apennines and the passionate, talented and discreet Italians living in the cradle of the European culture. The Alps also could be seen as a boundary, which looking from Estonia, marked the gate to the sunny south, and looking from Italy, to the mystic, cool north. But "Across the Alps" - that is a handshake between our two peoples, an assurance at the possibility of a Europe united and, at the same time, diversified in an enriching way.
Permit me to take as a handshake of the same kind also the honour - to be an Honorary Doctor of the University of Naples, given to me. It also is a credit to the people and country I am representing here. Once again - thank you very much!
In Italian:
Presidente della Repubblica d'Estonia Alla concessione della laurea honoris causa dell“Università di Napoli 21 novembre 2002
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